Antiperspirant and deodorant products come in many different forms including sticks, gels, soft solids, roll-ons and aerosols. These product forms are typically packaged in different types of dispensers that are suitable for delivering the specific product form. Dispensers for such product forms can be classified as either contact dispensers (sometimes called applicators) or non-contact dispensers. Non-contact dispensers are such that dispenser does not come in contact with the surface upon which product is to be applied. Non-contact dispensers include aerosol and spray dispensers. Within the class of contact dispensers, a further differentiation can be made between a first subclass adapted to dispense flowable materials and a second subclass of dispensers which include an internal means to transport a non-flowable material, such as a solid or hard gel towards a dispensing aperture. For identification purposes, this second subclass of contact dispensers are referred to herein as “stick dispensers”.
As previously stated, in stick dispensers, internal means typically transport the solid product towards a dispensing aperture. In stick dispensers, in order to apply product, the solid product is contacted against the surface upon which the product is to be applied (e.g. user's underarm area). Therefore, in stick dispensers the application surface is the product itself.
Unlike stick dispensers, in the first subclass of contact dispensers referenced above the application surface is a part of the dispenser as opposed to the product itself. Such contact applicators commonly have a surface that contains on it a thin layer of the product. The product is a flowable product that will spread on the application surface of the dispenser and on the surface upon which the product is to be applied (e.g. user's underarm area). Typical examples of such applicators are roll-on or porous applicators. In such applicators a part of the dispenser acts as the application surface as opposed to the product itself. The application surface is contacted against the surface upon which the product is to be applied (e.g. user's underarm area) and a thin coating of product is transferred from the application surface to the surface upon which the product is to be applied. While roll-on type dispensers are the primary and most popular of this subclass of contact dispensers, other types of dispensers that fall within this first subclass of applicators are known, such as an applicator having an application surface which is a porous dome as disclosed in EP Application No. 03250205.6, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. For identification purposes, this first class of contact dispensers are referred to herein as “liquid contact applicators”. For identification purposes, liquid contact applicators having a porous dome application surface, such as those disclosed in EP Application No. 03250205.6, are referred to herein as “porous dome applicators”.
Porous dome applicators have typically operated by a combination of force created by capillary action assisted by an applied mechanical force wherein the internal volume of the container is reduced thereby creating a force to push the product out of the container. Porous dome applicators in which the product is forced to flow by only or primarily capillary action have been subject to several problems. These applicators have been found to not provide ample payout (i.e. the amount of product that is dispensed during operation) and thus have required the use of additional mechanical forces whereby the internal volume of the container is reduced in order to increase the payout. The requirement of reducing the internal volume of the container detracts from the simple application technique that is desired from porous dome applicators, which unlike some other dispensers/applicators do not require the user to reduce the internal volume of the container in order to dispense product. Porous dome applicators are desired for other reasons as well, such as the type of formulations that can be used to them.
An object of the present invention is to provide a dispenser which is a porous dome applicator having ample payout and whereby the internal volume of the container does not need to be reduced to provide the ample payout. The porous dome applicators of the present invention provide ample payout without the need for reducing the internal volume of the container thus providing an easy to use dispenser to the user.
Other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the specification.